When Confabb launched in November we always had it in our heads to add robust social networking capabilities to what we knew would be the world’s best resource for finding conferences and events. But before we added anything we said we’d listen to our users and incorporate the features and functionality they requested, rather than guess at what would be useful. After receiving a good deal of feedback (and kudos for creating a much-needed product in an under-served marketplace) we’ve today rolled out what we feel is a natural extension to Confabb’s service to its users: true social networking capabilities designed to further extend and enhance the conference experience through personal connections.
Networking, and the connections you make through networking, is the true net value of attending a conference. Too often that value is lost after the brief and busy two or three days of the conference expires. Confabb today is providing conference and event attendees, speakers and organizers a new channel for networking to capture and make the most of those connections.
On a quick side note: we encourage you to check out the new Confabb-powered site for the Personal Democracy Forum 2007 conference. PDF is one of our clients that saw how conferences and the web are merging and used our Confabb platform to power their conference web site. Stay tuned for news to come on many more exciting clients using our game-changing platform.
Back to Confabb’s enhancements. Some of the great new features include:
New Logged-in Homepage
Log in and check out ‘your new homepage.’ Above ‘your conferences’ is the new ‘your network,’ a bird’s-eye view of bulletin board messages from within your network (more on that below), your online Confabb connections and any messages sent to you by those within the Confabb community. Click on ‘My Account’ to see the full range of search and connection possibilities. Post your own messages for everyone to see on “your bulletin board,” which will be broadcast globally—Confabb pings no fewer than 68 of the major alerting services—or have a one-on-one discussion with other Confabb members. You can also see what others are talking about and invite new people, either from within or outside of Confabb, to join your network.
New Search!
There are two new forms of search on the site (you’ll all remember that the search function was Confabb’s Achilles Heel when we launched). There is now an advanced search for conferences which drills down into multiple parameters such as location, keyword, location, category and when the show date starts and stops. That nullifies one of the biggest knocks we got at launch. People will love it. We’ve also added a “User Search” which lets Confabb users search for and connect with other Confabb community members. Of course that sets us up for connecting people within the community and that’s the best part.
MY Connections (or “buddy lists”)
Just as you keep a list of people with home you correspond daily, the “My Connections” tab is your gateway to the personal contacts you’ve made within the Confabb community–people with whom you’ve connected before and want to stay in touch with going forward. This is your personal network; friends, colleagues and other contacts whose whereabouts and doings you want to follow as they prepare for and an attend events. Attendees can view a list of other conference participants, check out their profiles, invite them into their personal network and email them directly through Confabb’s personal messaging feature.
Personal Messaging
This is the Confabb community’s personal email service. We respect everyone’s right to privacy so messaging within the community is handled by us; simply use the “contact” link to jot a note to the person of your choice and we’ll send the message to the email that person has registered within our system. Responses are handled by us as well so your information is never revealed unless you choose to do that outside of the community.
Media
This is cool. “Media” is just that: everything that interests you from across the web, from text-based articles and links to photos, RSS feeds for breaking information and even full blown videos. The content comes from the web’s leading sources of open information, including Technorati, Google and Yahoo!, Feedster, Flickr and YouTube. Simply click the “Media” tab at the top of the navigation bar and find information on just about anything by searching for the subject’s name or the subject’s tag in the desired content source. The Media tab lets you experience the conference through everyone else’s eyes, and they experience it through content you create, find and share with them.
Bulletin Boards
Confabb now provides all of its users with their own personal blogs, or bulletin boards, from which they can share their thoughts, opinions on the issues and experiences. This is the community member’s space; it’s intensely individual, consisting of the member’s content and comments from their readers. People can also read the musing of others within their network by clicking on the “Bulletin Board Posts within My Network” tab, which shows what others within their network are saying too.
Each board–the individual blog and the personal network bulletin board–are completely searchable by the major search engines. You will build traffic from within the community as well as anyone from around the globe with an interest in what you have to say!
Other Cool Stuff Happening at Confabb
We’ve been busy scouring the web and loading new conferences and trade shows into our system. Our launch in November was a huge success and with your help we’ve just surpassed 22,000 conferences in our database. That’s more than 22,000 trade shows, conferences and other events with Confabb as their hub–a huge community indeed. We’re extremely proud of this accomplishment and we couldn’t have come this far without your help.
So register yourself and become a member of the Confabb community. Use the new tools we’ve just launched and then tell us how they’ve helped you connect and extend the relationships you’ve made at conferences. We love hearing your stories and value your feedback on the new features.
*Whew* Long post but we needed to get this out there. Looking forward to seeing you on Confabb!
– The Confabb Team
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